The present invention generally relates to photography and more particularly, to a light measuring device for use in flash photography to be effected by firing a flash light source (referred to as an auxiliary light source hereinbelow) under ambient light.
Generally, the purpose for employing an auxiliary light source under ambient light conditions is to adjust contrast between different portions or areas in a scene to be photographed or the object field. For example, when a main object to be photographed is dark as compared with the background due to rear light or the like, the brightness of the main object can be increased with the use of the auxiliary light for adjusting the contrast with respect to the background as desired.
However, there has not been conventionally proposed any satisfactory light measuring device which is suitable for taking photographs by adjusting the contrast between respective portions in the scene to be photographed as desired by a photographer, with the employment of the auxiliary light source. Up to the present, for taking photographs as required, it has been a common practice that a photographer well experienced in photographing adjusts the lighting based on his experience. However, the practice as described above is nothing but a qualitative control of the contrast after all, and the quantitative control thereof has not been actually effected. Furthermore, it has been extremely difficult for photographers in general even to control the contrast qualitatively.